Your Old Pal Luke

Recently Misty was going through her camera deleting old photos and came across this video Luke made of himself. The oddity of it cracked me up...I love that kid.

Peace On Earth

But an angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of heavenly hosts appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rest."

Luke 2:10-14

Oh Night Divine

Truly he taught us to love one another
His law is love and his gospel is peace.
Chains shall he break for the slave is our brother
And in his name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise his holy name

Oh Holy Night, verse 3

The Church of the Future (The Next Evangelicalism pt.6)

Throughout Soong-Chan Rah's book, The Next Evangelicalism, I've been wondering just what the Church of the future looks like. Who will be the faces leading the way and how will the "success" of their ministries be measured? The answers to some of these questions begin to take shape with questions posed by Rah himself:

"Instead of putting forth yet another white leader in his thirties with a mega-church paradigm as the model of ministry, should we be lifting up the Haitian pastor, who drives a cab during the day, attends seminary classes at night and pastors the church on the weekend?"

"Or the Dominican pastor who returns to the Dominican Republic on 'vacation' and hold numerous evangelistic rallies and ends up planting several churches?"

"Or the Hmong pastor that an entire community relies upon to be both the civic and spiritual leader, but whose church never grows past forty worshipers? Are we willing to acknowledge that the immigrant church that appears to be people in need, might actually have something to teach us?" (p.179)

Life of Discontentment

Our pursuit of meaning and purpose in this world has become big business. Go to any bookstore and spend time looking through the "Self-help" aisle and you will find books on how to achieve "Your Best Life Now", how to live a "Purpose Driven Life", and what it takes to get "From Good to Great".

Many of these books are written by pastors trying to encourage "ordinary people" to step out of whatever "rut" they may find themselves in and become "extraordinary human beings". While these books may have their place I'm wondering if they do more to perpetuate feelings of discontentment than actually help an individual live a full life in relationship to God within the parameters of their current reality.

We spend time frustrated that we want more out of life in such a way that it pushes us further and further into to future. "When my life reaches a certain point then I will be satisfied". As a culture have we become so future focused that we can only feel despair in the present? In our "future focus" orientation are we missing out on what his happening around us now?

Within the self pursuit of purpose we are not only removed further and further from the present, but we are propelled further and further into a sense of hyper-individualism: "When will I be satisfied?" "How can my life find meaning?"

The Scriptures speak of a God that is continually relating to his people (plural) in the present; trying to shape them in an understanding of what it means to be a people of God in the midst of their current situation (even if that situation seems to lack significance or meaning). What does this mean for those that may be discontent with their present situation? How can one better listen and be shaped by God and find meaning and purpose today?

"Release"

"Release", water color, 2.5 x 3 ft. The breaking of darkness and the dawning of light.

A Change In Perspective (The Next Evangelicalism pt.5)

One of the greatest mistakes we make as human beings is assuming that we see "things" (the world and all that is in it) the "right" way. Soong-Chan Rah writes, "Sin results when human beings attempt to take God's place in creation. In other words, we make ourselves the standard of reference in the determination of our values and norms" (p.80).

When we fail to recognize our own presuppositions in relationship to God and creation we give way to a defensive posture based out of a fear that truth will be compromised. The fear that keeps us from recognizing our own flawed worldview is, at best, not conducive to healthy growth and, at its worst, causes us to respond to others (and their worldviews) in ways that are violent and oppressive (i.e. racism, nationalistic imperialism, and even petty arguments).

Until we realize that none of us view this world objectively we will continue to be steeped in trying to make "our way" become "everyone else's way". And if we continue along that path then greed, violence, and anger will most certainly follow.

Yet our call as kingdom people is much different; we are to be a servants, disciples, students, and learners. If we are to engage, learn from, and benefit from the depth of others we need to posture ourselves in ways that exude meekness and humility. It is through this type of engagement with the broader world (and the many worldviews that exist within it) that the ground can become fertile for the hallmarks of our confession: faith, hope, and love.

Luke Makes Jesus Walk On Water

Our Role In the Rescue

When Christians talk about "saving souls" they miss the full hope of the Gospel. The beautiful hope is that God will one day restore all of creation. Our role as followers of Jesus is to build for the kingdom.

NT Wright puts it this way: "God longed, in other words, to reestablish his wise sovereignty over the whole creation, which would mean a great act of healing and rescue. He did not want to rescue humans from creation any more than he wanted to rescue Israel from the Gentiles. He wanted to rescue Israel in order that Israel might be a light to the Gentiles, and he wanted thereby to rescue humans in order that humans might be his rescuing stewards over creation." Surprised By Hope

As followers of Jesus this has important implications. It means that what we do, now/today, echoes. It beckons us to see salvation on a larger scale: a radical healing of all creation. It means that when we care for our created world, spend time looking after the sick, or advocating for the oppressed we do so not to gain leverage in attracting/getting people to believe what we do about God, but rather that God somehow uses our work of mercy, love, and justice as building blocks for his kingdom; a kingdom that is both, in some manner, already present (visible through the work of his Church), and yet to come (in fullness with the Lordship and victory of Christ).